Dan McCaslin: Wilderness, Empire and the Future of the West

Dan McCaslin: Wilderness, Empire and the Future of the West

Most American citizens do not recognize this American Empire we inhabit, but if pressed, they might admit, “Well, we have some soft control and economic dominance, but it’s not really like an empire.” These folks shy away from any admission that the USA and the West run the world, that we do possess a global empire. At the same time, one of America’s greatest strengths resides in our remaining (vast) wilderness areas (Cole quotation, below). Whe…